NEST BUILDING IN HOUSE WRENS (TROGLODYTES AEDON): A REEXAMINATION OF MALE AND FEMALE ROLES

2000 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Alworth ◽  
Isabella B. R. Scheiber
Keyword(s):  
Nest Building ◽  
Troglodytes Aedon ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
House Wrens ◽  
Female Roles

Condition-dependent sex difference in nestling House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) response to phytohaemagglutinin injection

2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.F. Thompson ◽  
S.K. Sakaluk ◽  
B.S. Masters ◽  
B.G.P. Johnson ◽  
L.A. Vogel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Health State ◽  
Immune Responsiveness ◽  
Troglodytes Aedon ◽  
House Wren ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
House Wrens ◽  
Bacteria Killing ◽  
The One ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Adult male and female birds typically respond differently to immunological challenges, but whether this difference is present in altricial nestlings is not well-documented. Furthermore, the timing of the development of different axes of the immune system might vary in nestlings and also be affected by differences in condition and health state. We tested for sex-related differences in the immune response of nestling House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon Vieillot, 1809) to the injection of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and in the bacteria-killing capacity of their plasma. Based on prior work, we predicted that if there were sex-related differences in immune responsiveness, they would most likely occur when the sexes differed in some measure of condition or health state. Female nestlings had a stronger response to the injection of PHA than males in the one of three breeding seasons in which the condition of nestling females exceeded that of males, suggesting that the response to PHA injection is condition-dependent rather than sex-dependent. The sexes, however, did not differ in bactericidal activity, suggesting that different axes of the immune system may not be affected to the same degree by differences in sex or in condition.

scholarly journals Ecology and Behaviour of the Spotted-backed Weaverbird in the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas E. Collias ◽  
Elsie C. Collias
Keyword(s):  
Food Habits ◽  
National Park ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Pair Formation ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Territorial Behaviour ◽  
Male And Female

Spotted-backed Weaverbirds were studied during September-December, 1969 in the Transvaal, chiefly in the Kruger National Park, and observations were made on their distribution, ecology and behaviour. Territorial behaviour, nest-building, pair formation displays, vocalizations and food habits are described as well as the division of labour between male and female in care of the young. Attacks by snakes and hawks are described as well as responses of the birds to their enemies. Behavioural relations to another species of weaver were also observed.

scholarly journals On Studies of Task Bifferentiation between Men and Women in the Scandinavian Iron Age

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-172
Author(s):  
Louise Ströbeck
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Specific Task ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Roles ◽  
Activity Areas ◽  
Grave Goods

Reiterated and cursorily criticised generalisations of attributes for male and female in grave goods, have since the first half of the nineteenth century created an oversimplified yet politically intricate image of a specific task differentiation between men and women in prehistory. Ideals of male and female roles and tasks in the interpreter’s contemporary society have been described as universals in terms of binary oppositional pairs, or spheres, such as private/domestic-public. The dichotomies used for analysing and attributing male and female tasks have given preference to stereotypes, and the very formulation of the oppositional concepts for activity areas expresses ideological valuations ofmale and female. This article stresses the need for analysing the origin of concepts, and it seeks new and alternative ways of perceiving task differentiation.

Female Attraction To Male Song in House Wrens (Troglodytes Aedon)

Behaviour ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 133 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 357-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Searcy ◽  
L. Scott Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Empty Nest ◽  
Troglodytes Aedon ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Visit Rate ◽  
House Wrens ◽  
Female Attraction ◽  
Male House

AbstractThis study tested the hypothesis that the song of male birds can function to attract mates. At 11 different locations on our Wyoming study area, we broadcast the song of male house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) from a loudspeaker mounted next to an empty nest box in an unoccupied wren territory. The number of female wrens attracted to the 'speaker box' was compared to the number visiting a silent, control box on another, unoccupied territory nearby. Females visited speaker boxes at a significantly higher rate than they visited control boxes. Ten females visited speaker boxes in six different trials during periods when no male was associated with either the speaker or control box (total time = 45.5 h; visit rate = 0.22/h). In contrast, only one female visited a control box during these same periods (= 0.02 visits/h), and she did so after first visiting the speaker box. Two females visited the speaker box simultaneously in some trials and chasing or fighting always ensued. Many females showed signs of settling permanently at speaker boxes, remaining at speaker boxes from their arrival to the end of the trial (> 5 h in two cases), and most began constructing nests in boxes, despite the absence of a male. In summary, this study provides strong experimental evidence that the song of male house wrens can function to attract mates for breeding.

Do House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) add spider egg cases to their nests for heterospecific cleaning?

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-56
Author(s):  
C.L. Gable ◽  
T.J. Underwood ◽  
G.P. Setliff
Keyword(s):  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
The Body ◽  
Troglodytes Aedon ◽  
House Wren ◽  
Late Season ◽  
House Wrens ◽  
Significant Difference

House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon Vieillot, 1809) regularly add spider egg cases (Arachnida: Araneae) to their nests, which may be an example of heterospecific cleaning. This behavior involves one animal employing another to remove parasites from their nests. In House Wren nests, juvenile spiders hatching from egg cases may facilitate the reduction of mites that feed on nestlings. We tested this ectoparasite reduction hypothesis by monitoring House Wren nests for spider egg cases and by collecting completed nests to compare the number of spider egg cases and Dermanyssus hirundinis (Hermann, 1804) mites. No significant relationship was found between the number of spider egg cases and number of D. hirundinis mites in nests. We also found no significant relationship between the number of D. hirundinis mites in nests and the body condition of nestlings. Finally, no significant difference was found between the number of D. hirundinis mites in early versus late season nests, but significantly more spider egg cases were added to late season nests. Of a subsample of spider egg cases dissected, we found that 28% contained spider eggs or embryos. We also identified three species of juvenile spiders from House Wren nests using DNA barcoding. Overall, we found no evidence that spider egg cases reduce the number of D. hirundinis mites or engender better quality offspring in House Wren nests.

4. Sex roles and stereotypes

2018 ◽  
pp. 52-68
Author(s):  
Leigh W. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Sex Roles ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Mating Competition ◽  
Characteristic Behaviour ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Female Roles

‘Sex roles and stereotypes’ examines the notion, implicit in many of the original ideas about sexual selection, that males and females have natural ‘roles’ with characteristic behaviour associated with each sex. It also explores further the reasons behind deviations from the ‘typical’ sex roles in mate choice and in mating competition. Are there ‘standard’ male and female roles in both humans and other animal species? One version of sex roles holds that males are generally dominant and females submissive, stemming from the way that sexual selection favours different behaviours in each sex. This could mean that sexual selection dictates particular behaviours in males and females. But in fact, sexual behaviour is extraordinarily varied in nature.

scholarly journals Nest Building is an Indicator of Parental Quality in the Monogamous Neotropical Buff-Breasted Wren (Thryothorus Leucotis)

The Auk ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 1169-1181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon A. Gill ◽  
Bridget J. M. Stutchbury
Keyword(s):  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Nest Construction ◽  
Dual Roles ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Nestling Provisioning ◽  
Feeding Effort ◽  
Nestling Feeding ◽  
Thryothorus Leucotis ◽  
Parental Ability

Abstract In species with long-term partnerships, optimal mate preferences may differ from actual mate choice, and pair displays that advertise individual quality may be expected. We examined the relationship between nest-building and nestling-provisioning effort in Neotropical Buff-breasted Wrens (Thryothorus leucotis) to determine whether male or female expenditure during nest construction was used as an indicator of subsequent parental ability. Buff-breasted Wrens build two nest types: breeding nests used for raising offspring, and “dormitory“ nests built year-round and used by pairs for roosting overnight. The building effort of males was greater than that of their mates for dormitory nests, whereas male and female effort were similar during breeding-nest construction and nestling provisioning. Despite large within-sex variation in building and provisioning efforts, male and female effort within pairs were significantly positively correlated for construction of both nest types and for nestling feeding. Effort expended by males during dormitory-nest construction was positively correlated with nestling-provisioning effort, whereas female building effort was not. No relationship existed between effort in breeding-nest construction and nestling provisioning in either sex. These results suggest that effort in dormitory-nest construction was an indicator of male Buff- breasted Wren parental ability. Females that survived to the year following observation built dormitory nests at a lower rate than those that disappeared, which suggests that nest building may be costly and that by building more than females, males may increase the survival prospects of their partners. Dormitory-nest building by males may play dual roles throughout the year, indicating parental ability and investment in the partnership. La Construcción de Nidos es un Indicador de la Calidad de los Padres en la Especie Neotropical Monógama Thryothorus leucotis

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